Foundation frame for parade floats



R. W. KNIGHT FOUNDATION FRAME FOR PARADE FLOATS Nov. 11, 1952 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Aug. 22, 1949 IN VEN TOR.

Elma

Nov. 11, 1952 w, KN 2,617,570

- FOUNDATION FRAME FOR PARADE FLOATS Fild Aug. 22, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 IN V EN TOR.

ZZZ-ma i VIA/$257M Patented Nov. 11, 1952 asmsm FOUNDATION'FRAME FOR PARADE FLoATs Richa d Knig t Wich ta Fal Tex! Application August 22, 1949, Sefla1No.'1-11,605 .4 Qlelms. (01. 224-42413) his: re ates the foundation. for 99 e le'iiq ts. a d o e pa icula ly to a f a e f applic t o t a i ehiob s o other v ic e n heereheratioho si c rat ys h s s. to. be hs i Pare. and f r simila qcsas ns li e pr arat on o floa s for pa a s b eds rtdfor p mmeh us d i h t s ht y n oun ered diie'tq th a t. that th 9s twist e h wen ada ed for th at n of decorative materials. Such floats o s usua hh uly x s ve be use o he i. ,1? Q. im cdn u ned. i e or i the am since the vehicle used must be taken out of norerr e an cannot be t erwi e. mplo wil th h a e is o en, Mershve a he t r ed iii the fsulsthmarv manne s. sui ah eiq us lr hs hsce ihhi afte wh ch t mu t bEsQQm' .s it sl te ded a d a, new, one lcehstr sted t r the hsxti e y the present hvsht pm a. found ion frame wheel which. may be ass m led and d p' t l o e aphli eti h the veh cle th s R hl he QQhtihh us of t e vehicle 1 t e o the Parade M eh is rovide ta -l he hs th the vehic e whereby e her be ick a plie and. e ieved s e he d osi hh. whil in 1 ser se ihr htieh ha or its e heinal era 11 e hm si h i a. i hda io frame e Hea n be a veh cle o. be u ed, as. a. para e f: Wl hhir m sh he'whrehiehtw d o ated P ease th v hicle, w th a m nimum of leb rend expense} and with t. in erference w h 39F598 uses? the vehicle fier- Qthe h Q the ihveh oh the pr nefmit ready accessito he in; its??? .211%, eh q eto which he frame. has, be n appliedfwithout disturbing the decorationioninr cgnvenienci g the. driver ofs the same.

stlllfurthen object oflthe invention is tapro- 2 v ri e yer-ichn tio fl a f a whi h will. b seclih lrhe d n. p c o the v hicle, i asi y :re-

e ef om. a d w i h s o mnl esi n i ed co str ctio ca a e of wi hs andh s th relish usa e t which such a tr ctur s kely t9 b su e ed.-

The ie htl h. ll best under ood qm he q ew he descr ti n eh itut he a s e f ca ion of the same, when taken conjunction with the eh eheq draw n where n e: 1 is a rer he. r e hi. th a sem led heme;

.2. is an exp oded sid eleva na view showing the cons uct on. f ne s e of. the them F st 3. s a hershcc e view sh wi the mean b which the tram s suppor u o t e vehiand .9w s ch are se ured he vehithe he latter ei g n icated in do -da h. c th Eta. i s a ten a ew of he frames s mstal ed 9 a veh c Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of fig. 1, looking in the direction indicat d y h rrows; s

Fig. 6 is a, fragmentary perspective view show.- i-ng thehstr c ctural details of two adjoiningportions of one side of the. frame. and the means by which such portions are connected together;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the top transverse. frame elements, showing the means by which the same is secured to a 1ongitudinal frame member;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view showing the structural details ofthemeans by which the mid-pontion of the frame is supported at the bottom from the vehicle;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary elevational view, looking at one end ofthe vehicle, showing a, modified form of the means for supporting the frame on a vehicle bumper, indicating how such means isattached tothe bumper and; how it is engaged by-the. frame; and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary side elevationalview of the means-for-- supporting the frame illustrated in 9-.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, an automobile or other vehicle of a suitable type is indicated generally at 10, upon which the foundation frame indicated generally at [2 is to he supported for the purpose of forming a parade flpatJ The foundation frame is carriedfby transsame, at the ends ofthe vehicle. In addition,

22 connected by vertical bars 24 at suitably spaced intervals. The side frame sections may be formed in two portions as best seen in Figs. 1 and 2, these portions being spaced apart to provide an opening for a gate 26. The top rails.

ing beyond the sides of the vehicle. The rods 60 and 62 carry wing nuts 66 at their ends by which the parts may be adjusted to retain the supporting members 54 and 64 securely in engagement with the vehicle.

At each end of the supporting member 64 an angle 68 is secured, having an upwardly extending flange 10 to be secured to the bottom rail of the side frame section, by bolting or other suitable means.

When desirable, all of the parts of the foundation frame and its supports can be furnished to the us'er'in one or more packages or bundles,

lwith a sufficient number of bolts and fasteners of the portions of the side section'are joined across the top of the gate, and below the bottom of the gate these portions are connected by a rod 28 of general U-shape.

Across the top of the frame the side sections are connected by transverse top members 30. The top members 30 are provided at their ends with angle-shaped connectors 32, the downturned portions 34 of which are spaced from the ends of the members to provide recesses for the reception of the top rails of the side sections.

'A hole 36 is provided in each of the connectors 32 to enable the same to be fastened to the top rail of the side section.

At the corners of the frame connecting angles 38 are provided for securing together the side and end members to form a frame of substantially rectangular shape about the vehicle.

As will best be seen in Figs. 1 and 5, the frame constructed in the manner described above provides an open-bottomed structure which can readily be placed over a vehicle and to which any suitable decorative material may be applied.

The top of the frame may be somewhat lower in that portion which overlies the forward end or hood of the vehicle and may be higher in the region of the roof of the vehicle, as best seen in Fig. 1, whereby an opening 39 is provided in' the frame in front of the windshield of the vehicle, so that the driver will have ample, unobstructed view through the windshield.

. The frame may be supported on the vehicle by transverse supports 40 and 42 positioned at each end of the vehicle and secured to the bumpers 4| thereof by means of J-bolts' 44,1 as seen in,

Fig. 9, in which case the supports will lie beneath the bumpers, or the supports may be positioned on top of the bumpers and similarly secured thereto as indicated in Fig. 3. The supports, as seen in Fig. 3, are provided at their ends with hook-shaped members .46. projecting beyond the sides Of the vehicle for receiving the bottom rails of the frame. When the supports are secured beneath the bumpers brackets 48 may be secured at their ends, which'bracketsf are formed with a re-bent portion 50 serving to position the rail receiving portions, of the brackets at substantially the same level asthose of the hooks 46.

pended claims.

to complete the same and instructions for use, and the various sections can be put together and assembled for decoration and mounting on the vehicle, as may be convenient or desired.

The side and end sections of the frame may be made up as units and secured together by bolts to form a complete frame structure ready for positioning on the vehicle. If more convenient, however, the side sections may be divided, in which case each part may be conveniently terminated by a vertical member 24, and the vertical members of'two adjacent partsmay be abutted in assembling the section. The parts are assembled in the manner indicated in Fig.6, by the use of a strap piece 72 bolted to a'djacent ends of the top rail 22. In this manner the frame can be made as long or as short as may be desired to accommodate vehicles of various sizes.

The gate 26 may be attached by hinges M or in other convenient manner, and may be provided with a latch 16 for retaining the same in closed position. The parts of the side frame section are of such length that the gate Will be positioned in registration with the front door of the vehicle for facility in entering the same.

It will be apparent that the foundation frame as described above may be easily and quickly assembled and the decorative material applied thereto at any convenient time and place, after which the entire frame can be placed overthe vehicle and secured thereto.- If more convenient, the various sections of the frame'can be decoratedand assembled about the vehicle immediately prior to the time of use. A float so; contaching the fasteners 38 at the cornersand'stacking the sections one upon another to form a com-, pact bundle-for'storage or transportation. 'It will be seen that the invention provides afoundation frame of light and sturdy construction capable of repeated use, thusefiecting a great savingin labor and material'in the preparation of parade floats.

I While the invention has been described in accordance with a particular embodiment of. the same, it will be understood that many changes and modifications can be; made in ,the'various parts, as well as in the manner of assembling and supporting the same, 'without'departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope'ofthe' ap- What is claimed and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A foundation'structure for aparade float adapted to .be positioned over and 'carried by a vehicle which vehicle has a bumper on each end thereof, said structure comprising side and end frame sections, fastening means connecting said sections to form a substantially rectangular frame about said vehicle, transverse supports attachably secured to said bumper at the opposite ends of said vehicle and each having upwardly opening yoke members secured to the outer ends thereof and said yolre members being adapted to attachably engage said frame adjacent the ends thereof, and a transverse supporting member positioned mediate the ends of said vehicle adapted to engage said said frame between the ends thereof to support said frame from the top of the occupant compartment of said vehicle.

2. A foundation structure for a parade float comprising a frame adapted to be positioned over and supported in spaced relation to a vehicle, a supporting member positioned on and extending above said vehicle, means carried by said supporting member extending beyond the sides of said vehicle for engagement with said frame, and supporting members at ecah end of said vehicle extending beyond the sides of said vehicle and having upwardly opening hooks at each end thereof for engagement with the bottom of said frame and for the support thereof 3. A demountable frame structure adapted to be positioned over and carried by a vehicle, comprising side and end frame sections each of Which sections has spaced upright bars and horizontal rails, fastening means for securing said upright bars and horizontal rails together to form the respective side and end frame sections, means for attachably securing adjacent corners of the side 3 and end frame sections together to form a rectangular frame, transverse members positioned between upper sides of said side frame sections and attachably secured thereto, a transverse support bar attachably secured to each end of said vehicle and each bar having upwardly opening U-members secured to each end of said transverse support bar for supporting the side frame sections at the ends of said vehicle for quick detachment therefrom.

a. A demountable frame structure adapted to be positioned over and carried by a vehicle, comprising side and end frame sections, each of which has spaced upright bars and horizontal rails, fastening means for securing said upright bars and horizontal rails together to form the respective side and end frame sections, means for attachably securing adjacent corners of said side and end frame sections together to form a reetangular frame, transverse members positioned between the upper sides of said side frame sections and attachably secured thereto, at least three horizontally aligned transverse support members projecting beyond the sides of said vehicle and having an upwardly opening hook on each end thereof, which support members are attachably secured at each end of said vehicle for supporting said side frames for quick detachment from said transverse support members.

RICHARD W. KNIGHT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,511,728 Hovrland Oct. 14, 1924 1,548,527 Hillgren Aug. 4, 1925 2,109,971 McDonald Nov. 30, 1937 

